Month: February 2016

You may have noticed that this blog has been a bit more quiet than usual lately, the reason why is very simple. I’ve been busy as hell.

I’m finally down to the point where I average three jobs per week (I technically have five, but one has just gone into dormancy and another is just one night every now and then). In addition to that, I still study full time and have that little debating thing going on too. Stress has become a way of life for me and most of the time, it works really well. After next week, I should be back to a regular schedule without too much craziness going on. It’s going to be great.

Stress is something I know a lot of my readers struggle with for various reasons. It seems like it’s almost a part of being human these days. Naturally, this means that it’s worth having a discussion about how to manage it.

I love both vintage and pinup styles, they’re some of the coolest styles out there. Personally, I’m more inspired by vintage than pinup but enjoy dabbling with both. This post is not meant to trash any of the styles, merely to outline the differences between them to clarify what the different styles mean.

Vintage style makeup aims to capture the essence of specific time periods and often seeks to replicate classic looks without changing them. Pinup is a more modern take on classical styles, often more dramatic than vintage. Personally, I think of vintage makeup as day makeup and save full pinup makeup for special events.

Which is easier for beginners?
Probably vintage, for one reason: Winged eyeliner. Winged eyeliner is a staple of pinup makeup and although pinup looks can be created without winged liner, it’s considered one of the main components of pinup style makeup. Genuine 1930’s and 1940’s looks seldom included a lot of eyeliner but focused on mascara instead.

What are the differences?
In general, pinup makeup is a bit edgier than vintage. The colours are often designed to pop and stand out a bit more than in vintage makeup. Eyeshadow is more commonly used in pinup makeup than vintage makeup and it’s often applied using more modern techniques. The winged liner is the greatest difference, it only saw limited use in vintage times but is embraced by the pinup community. Pinup makeup takes greater liberties with colour in general and isn’t afraid to try new combinations and textures. They’re quite similar when it comes to foundation, but the pinup style seems to favour full coverage matte foundation while the vintage style often features lighter coverage and a powdered finish.

Do I have to pick one or the other?

Of course not, a lot of people’s makeup looks fall on a spectrum. Like I said in the introduction, I often save pinup makeup for special occasions or events. In general, I’d say pinup makeup offers more options while vintage makeup is a bit more ‘strict’. That being said, no one is going to crucify you if you use a lipstick with a texture that didn’t exist in the 1940’s. There are always “puritans” who have the opinion that their way of doing a certain style of makeup is the only way that style of makeup should be done. I typically ignore these people. Makeup is meant to be fun and shouldn’t feel like a burden or be so difficult to navigate that you wish you had a rule book.

Makeup can be really expensive, especially if you’ve just started building a makeup kit. Some products will seem great at first and then turn out not to work at all, other products will improve as you learn how to use them.

So what are some tricks you can use to make your heard earned money last a bit longer?
Knowing there’s always going to be some smart-ass who will say ‘just don’t buy makeup’, let me just say that I’m entirely aware that’s the cheapest option of all. It’s however a pretty useless tip to give someone trying to build a makeup collection or kit without breaking the budget. Some of these are aimed at people just starting out, others at people aiming to build a sizeable collection or kit.

Yes, this is a photo depicting the various stages.
Bottom right features my regular lips as they are, quirks and all. The one above that features the first layer of the application.
The one above that is the THIRD step. The one where I have clearly painted outside the lines features the SECOND step. And the one of my full sweaty face is the final step.
Yes, the pictures got jumbled.

For this, I used one of the flipsticks from MaxFactor. Also, it is so freaking hot and humid today that the BB creme I’m wearing is literally melting off my face.

Make sure your lips are in decent condition. By this I mean not overly chapped, dry, or damaged. No one has the time to ensure their lips are in perfect condition all the time.

Apply the deeper shade all over your lip. Draw a full shape but not an excessive one. This is where I would normally leave it

Apply the lighter shade in the centre of the lip. Go back and extend your cream shade a bit.

CLEAN UP the colour that extended too far until you have the shape you want. I honestly just use my bare fingers to do that with this product, but you might need to use a q tip with makeup remover and then go in with concealer around your lip.

Add a tiny dab of gloss in the centre of the lip.

This is one of those processes where you have an awkward stage in the middle, but it’s a good trick if your lips have a tendency to look flat or thin. You can also use a lip liner for more definition and control.

One of my current projects is to use up makeup I have, mainly because I have a tendency to hoard things. I’ve hoarded everything from notepads to nail polishes, and currently it’s makeup. So yeah, trying to not let my makeup drawers overflow.

Among the things I’ve recently finished, you’ll find these foundations. The Etude House foundation is one of my favourite foundations and I’ll probably repurchase it later. The Chanel one was lovely in many ways but lacked longevity, which is kinda important in a foundation.

I’ve also finished the pomegranate sheet mask I got from Sephora and while it felt good on my skin it simply smelled rank. I have tons of sheet masks to get through, so I won’t be repurchasing that one.

One of my facial scrubs has also been chucked out. It’s the espresso scrub from TonyMoly that I’ve mentioned on here several times. I think the product might sadly have been discontinued, which is a shame because I really liked it. So instead I’m starting on a black sugar mask from SkinFood.

Within the next day or two, I’ll be finishing a hand creme from The Saem. It’s in the shape and scent of a mangosten and it’s really adorable. It’s a good hand creme and although this specific brand is quite difficult to find in Australia, TonyMoly has a very similar range of hand cremes that also come in fruit shaped tubs and scents.

It’s been kinda difficult to try new makeup or even wear reliable products for a few days now. We’ve had a heat and humidity wave, it’s been like walking around in a greenhouse. Walk three minutes to the pub? Covered in sweat. So yeah, I didn’t think it was fair to test out any new products or try any new looks when it’s so hot that my foundation barely attaches to my face.